All public comments seeking to place the blame regarding the inability to secure the World Surf League’s Championship Tou r(CT) event at Jeffreys Bay this year, 2026, at the feet of the Minister of Sport and the SA Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) are “misguided, a form of deflection and unjustified scapegoating, the DSAC stated yesterday, 27 January”.
The statements notes: “The public narrative being spread now appears to suggest the Minister of Sport has withdrawn support from the event, leading to its demise. This is highly inaccurate!
“Regulations exist to ensure that international events hosted by South Africa are properly planned, financially viable, and implemented in a sustainable manner, with due regard to available resources. As no request for national government funding, guarantees, or associated services was formally submitted for consideration, no funding decision was therefore taken at national level.
DSAC noted numerous public statements attributing responsibility for the loss of the WSL CT Tour event at Jeffreys Bay to the Minister of Sport (Gayton McKenzie), and DSAC. “This includes an official statement from a major political party directly criticising the Minister and the Department for the decision made by the World Surf League to shift the event to New Zealand.
“In the case of the World Surf League event, the Department and Ministry did not receive any formal application submitted in accordance with the Regulations. No request for national government funding, guarantees, or associated services was formally submitted for consideration, and no funding decision was therefore taken at national level.
“The Jeffreys Bay event is a privately owned and promoted event that formed part of the professional global surfing circuit since the mid-1980s. It featured on the Championship Tour calendar for more than 30 years. Many of the commercial realities around sustainably promoting and holding this event have changed, however, leaving organisers searching for sources of funding that were not needed in the past. It must be noted that the World Surf League event was hosted in South Africa for many years without the involvement of, or direct financial support from DSAC.
“The Department continues to support the development of the sport through the provision of an annual grant to Surfing South Africa, in line with an approved three-year funding agreement and subject to the availability of funds.”
“Factually, anyone wishing to apply for funding for such an event must do so in line with the Bidding and Hosting of International Sport and Recreational Events Regulations, which set out the prescribed process to be followed by organisations intending to bid for and host international sporting events in South Africa. In terms of these Regulations, event organisers are required to submit a formal application to the Department whenever they bring international competitors to South Africa for a sporting event. The Minister of DSAC considers such applications and may approve or decline them. Where an application includes a request for national government funding, guarantees, or services from other government departments, the Minister is required to submit the request to Cabinet for consideration and approval.
DSAC also stated it continues to support the development of the sport through the provision of an annual grant to Surfing South Africa, in line with an approved three-year funding agreement and subject to the availability of funds.
DSAC remains committed to supporting sport development and the hosting of international events in South Africa through transparent, lawful, and sustainable processes.
The WSL was specifically asked by St Francis Chronicle to provide reasons for it not hosting the event in JBay this year owing to almost a week of widespread and widely shared rumours on websites and in WA groups of allegations that Kouga Municipality did not pay its bill in 2025 and accommodation prices charged in JBay were too high, among other reasons bandied about.
One magazine Stab Mag noted this widely shared comment: “Allegedly, JBay is the most expensive stop on tour, costing north of $4 million USD compared to the usual $2–3 million range, due to peak season travel costs from the US (mostly) for 70-odd staff and lower tier sponsorship (think: the Baileys Ladders, Fatboy, Stone & Wood).”
But the WSL declined to comment on any of these allegations. Instead it sent its ‘just-released’ new PR release on Sunday that stated: “In order to maintain a 12-event CT format this season, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, will not feature on the CT schedule for 2026. Stop No. 4 will be Raglan, New Zealand 15 – 25 May (not Jeffreys Bay).
In the PR release WSL CEO, Ryan Crosby, said: “We love J-Bay and the community there, and we’re really grateful to them for welcoming us for so many years,” said Crosby. “It’s undoubtedly one of the best waves in the world, and we will continue to explore ways to return in the future. That said, we have made the difficult decision to pull Jeffreys Bay from the 2026 CT calendar. We did our very best to make JBay work in 202,5, but the financial support isn’t there to make it viable this year.”
He added: “Our goal is to set professional surfing up for long-term success and make sure the world’s best surfers have the platform to keep advancing the sport for many years,” continued Crosby. “Achieving this goal requires making decisions that prioritise the health of the overall business.”
Kouga’s mayor, Hattingh Bornman, commented on FB that it is with regret “we announce the World Surf League (WSL) will not host an event in Jeffreys Bay in 2026. The absence of a confirmed funding commitment from the national Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has led to this decision.
“Despite Kouga Municipality’s ongoing support, the municipal contribution alone is insufficient for an event of this magnitude. He noted that the WSL will move this leg of the tour to New Zealand, where the required funding has been secured.
“This is disappointing news, given the positive economic and tourism impact that the WSL event brings to our community. We remain optimistic that, with the necessary support, the event will return to Jeffreys Bay in 2027. “We will continue to prioritise growing our local economy through events like this and many others to come.”‘
The DA on its official website wrote under a headline ‘WSL replaces South Africa with New Zealand as Gayton Mckenzie drops the ball on EC Tourism Goldmine’ that: “We are absolutely devastated by the loss of the World Surf League event which is an international flagship surf event.
“This event was a lifeline for the local economy, supporting service providers, restaurants, informal traders and tourism workers. It injected millions of ZAR Rands into the South African and Eastern Cape economy every year.
“Its loss puts thousands of local jobs at risk.
“The event was lost because national government failed to secure funding, despite strong support from Kouga and other local and international stakeholders. “While the event is already lost for this year, the Provincial Government will need to take more accountability to ensure we don’t ever loose WSL again in the future. It is through events like these that we protect jobs and support the local economy.”
St Francis Chronicle 